ralphostrich

Yes.

(Edit) Facetiousness aside, the meat is the biggest reason for raising them. The orders we get for ostrich meat are so large that if every ostrich rancher in the US focused just on the orders that WE get, the orders would still not be filled on time. The demand is enormous.

Ostrich eggs are also highly-desired. Ostriches only lay eggs between April and September. One ostrich egg is the equivalent of between 18 and 24 chicken eggs. I have shared one ostrich egg with 21 other people.

Feathers are more of a byproduct that we don't let go to waste. They are sold for costuming and to make dusters.

Once their eyes are covered, they believe that it's nighttime and so will attempt to go to sleep.

Top speed is 40mph

The biggest challenge we face as far as handling goes is their exceptional lack of intelligence. An ostrich's brain is just a LITTLE bit smaller than the average adult human's thumbnail. Their short-term memory runs no longer than 10 seconds, making them impossible to train. We have to pull their heads down (so they don't kick us) and then put a tube of cloth over their heads. With their eyes covered they become very submissive and easy to move.

A hen will lay between 50 and 52 eggs on an average year and about 30 of those are hatchable. The rest are food or decoration. The meanest ostrich is the biggest ostrich. Typically the bigger they are, the meaner they are. Our largest breeder is 11ft tall and weighs over 530lbs. I don't bother him.

Ostriches are, at best, unreliable as a form of transportation. They run 40mph and cannot do so in a straight line. They weigh 300lbs and only have two toes on each foot, so when they run they do so in a zig-zag pattern. An ostrich's first instinct when something heavy drops onto its back is to stand in one spot and spin in circles until the thing falls off. They then kick that thing with 300 psi.

TL;DR: Haven't ridden. 2 scared

ha